The Cost Of War
by CommanderNeyo
Summary: a story about loss and how different people deal with it. set in the Halo universe after the Human Covenant War, watch as a citizen of Reach questions why humanity continues to fight even though they won, as well as how the human spirit prevails in the face of hardship. (inspired by the song Whats Going On by Marvin Gaye, best read listening to that song).


_Mother, mother...There's too many of you crying_

An alarm goes off. Drowsily I wake up to that old 20th century song "What's Going On?". I stare at the clock...6:30 A.M. Reach standard time.

"It's too early for this shit." I begrudgingly say, rolling slowly out of bed and into a pair of fuzzy slippers. Looking at the digital calendar on the wall, it reads "Wednesday, 2554."

"Huh, it's my day off." I say in my famous morning voice to no one in particular.

I reach for the remote to the viewing screen. It lights up with the same blue background as it always does. Flipping through the channels I found the news station.

"In other news, insurrectionists have hit New Albany, the capital of Draco III. Local law enforcement and a detachment of ODST's arrived on the scene to retake city hall. After a small skirmish, a SPARTAN-IV team was sent in to back up the ODST's. Tragically a member of the ODST squad Alpha-Nine, known as the Rookie, was killed in the skirmish…"

_Brother, brother, brother...There's far too many of you dying_

I backed away from the screen. The Rookie...he was my brother. A wave of emotions hit me like a brick wall. Anger, sadness, despair, everything beating my heart to pieces. I took a second to calm down, mom always had us take deep breaths when we were upset. My sadness left, but it was replaced with anger. Why is he dead, why are so many dead. We won the war right? We survived right? So why are we still fighting? Why are so many still dying in a fight we were supposed to have won...why must they die? Tears poured out of my face, tears of sadness and anger. My nails dug themselves into my skin, making fists of rage. I was ready to fight, ready to end this conflict with force...

_You know we've got to find a way, To bring some lovin here today - Ya_

I was supposed to see him soon, he was supposed to be on leave soon and he was supposed to come to Reach to see how the recolonization was going. The anger left, it was replaced only with sadness. I decided to call my father, we haven't talked in awhile, we have never been on the best of terms, but this was different.

_Father, father...We don't need to escalate...You see, war is not the answer...For only love can conquer hate_

"Hello?"

"Hey dad, did you hear about him?"

"Yeah, yeah I did, damn Innies, I hope they are wiped off the face of the universe."

"Dad that doesn't do him justice, in fact it just insults the memory of him and what he did."

"Don't talk to me about insulting his memory, it's their fault he's dead, those Innies could just live in the UNSC in peace but instead they see fit to make war against an organization that defended them when humanity was on the brink."

"But why must we continue to send men to die? We aren't the only ones affected by his death, how about his fellow squadmates, what about the families of Draco III's governing body who are now missing friends and family members? We can't keep sending young men to die just to cause more suffering."

"ENOUGH! we're done here, goodbye"...click

He hung up, I should've known he would do that. He is still angry over the death of mom at the hands of the Covenant. I don't blame him, he has a right to be angry. But he wants to send young men, his own son, to fight when we supposedly won and survived. It doesn't make sense to fight this fire with more fire, to end lives for a cause that's more fit for diplomats.

My morning goes by pretty quickly, before I know it it's 10 A.M. Reach Standard time. The dissociation from my brothers death has worn off, now depression stays in its place. I start to feel again, as earlier it felt as if I had left the world and couldn't feel anything after the news broke. I needed to clear my head a little bit, just enough to think at least a little about something other than him.

"I'll head up to my spot up on the hill."

As I say that to myself I grab a pair of cargo pants and a sweatshirt, it was chilly here on Reach around this time. Winter had come and it was starting to get a little nippy. I threw on the clothes, put on my shoes and grab my headphones and music player. Music has always had this odd effect on me when I am sad. I turn on the song that played this morning and skipped to where I left off

_You know we've got to find a way...To bring some lovin here today_

As I locked the door to my apartment, I turned around to see a sight that would make even a SPARTAN tear up. Outside of my door stood a group of people. I took off my headphones as a younger man-Airmed if my memory is correct-stepped forward and spoke.

"Hello, we heard about your brother, we've all lost someone these wars, I lost my wife to a Sangheili squad on Harvest, she was part of the detachment that went to train the militia at the beginning of the war."

I just stood there, emotion starting to flood back to my eyes

"We just wanted you to know that we know how you feel, it never wears off, but understanding that you're not alone is one step towards healing the rift in your heart."

With tears in my eyes I step forward, wrap my arms around this man, and just begin sobbing. Soon the whole group joins in the hug. For the first time in a long time I didn't feel alone in my struggles, I didn't feel alone in my pain, and for once, I felt the love that humanity is capable of.


End file.
